Intermission; Draza and Alicia
The ball was coming up, and while Draza certainly had an assortment of fine dresses for such an occasion, not all of them were exactly available to her. She knew that she was going to be going on some journeys, and helping out with these Queens’ Blades, but royal galas? That was… an unexpected addition to things. One that she didn’t really pack for. Specifically for a gala of such scope, one she hadn’t done since her days with the Papacy.
Now, she certainly could have sent a request for some more of her things from the Republic to be shipped, but that would be both expensive and perhaps untimely, the journey not necessarily safe from both humans and monsters. No, she had to get something here that was suitable for the event. Besides, maybe she could get something in a style or comfort unlike her other outfits.
She was not fully familiar with everyone in her newly acquired companionship, but she did recall something of one of them having relations with silk traders and the like. It would be a good first step to making more friendships internally, specifically after the whole event at the western tower that had made quite a few think of her less than she’d like. At worst, she’d be turned down, and have to go shopping on her own, and at best? Friendship! She liked those odds.
With a skip in her step, she went to the quarters she had inquired about, those of Alicia, and knocked upon her door, her knuckles rapping lightly against it as she spoke up, “Hello?”
The sound of rapping against wood was enough to stir Alicia from her reading. She had been examining a letter from one of her silk merchants. She wasn’t expecting any guests, nor was she expecting Jacque to return any time soon: he had brought her bottled dinner already, so that wasn’t it either.
With no understanding as to why she was being disturbed in this time, she was left with no more options than to go over to the door itself. She decided to retrieve a small dagger, just in case this was an assailant. Stalking over to the door in her casual dress, she decided to slowly open the door a crack, peeking out to see if there was an enemy at the doors. Instead, she only saw nothing-ness.
Confused, she decided to open the door fully and only then saw the tiny creature at her door. “Um...hello?”
Draza’s sharp eyes caught sight of the dagger, but she made no note of it otherwise, presuming it was just a precaution meant for intruders, not for her. “Yes, hello there, sorry to interrupt! Erm,” Draza timidly scuffed her foot against the ground, her hands clasped behind her and eyes averted, “So I heard that you have like, silk. So I was wondering if… you could help me get a dress of my size for the ball?” She turned her gaze back up, and flashed an innocent little smile, “Please?”
“You heard that I ‘like’ silk?” Alicia looked at the small fairy woman with a small grin forming on her face. She placed the dagger at her side, away from the tiny creature and move out of the way of the open door. “Come on in then, I suppose. What is your name?”
“No, that you erm,” Draza huffed impotently to herself. She righted her stance, and curtsied, “Thank you for your invitation into your chambers, I’m Draza Zorya.” Taking the invitation more fully, she stepped inside, “And you’re Lady Le’roux, am I correct? It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintanceship.”
“I’m not sure if I should be honoured or horrified that my name is spreading around the camp. Still, it is a pleasure to meet you as well, Draza Zorya. Please call me Alicia though; my family’s name is no way to address me in such a casual meeting.” She gently pushed the door shut behind the small lady, hoping to preserve at least some privacy for the conversation to come. “So you come to me, seeking a dress. I can’t fault you on your taste, although I am curious to know how you intend to pay me. I certainly don’t know you well enough to make a dress for free.” Alicia walked over to the desk, the Liverian noble folding up a number of letters, as well as gently pushing a red glass towards the back of the desk, away from focus.
Draza’s eyes went wide at the comment on the dress and price, “Oh no, Lady Alicia, I did not mean to imply that I sought one from you for free,” she bowed her head low, “I apologize for my failure in clarity, I will of course pay for the dress in full. I have money from my work as an aide and diplomat and I will get it changed to the currency that suits your fancy, if need be, in advanced.”
Alicia looked at the smaller woman, and then she smiled. “Not to be worried, Draza: I won’t fleece you of your funds. How about we agree on a small cash prize, based on how you like the dress?” She was smiling at the prospect, because she was going to gain a lot if this worked out well. For one, she would gain a small amount of income, and then there was the fact that her dress would be seen in the ball itself, and finally, she might make an ally out of nowhere. “No, to pay me for the work, how about we agree to you owing me…” She pauses, as if trying to figure out her terms. “...two small favours, to be called upon at my own time and pace...”
Favours, those were not exactly a safe nor sane manner of barter. Money, you always knew the value of. Bartered goods? Sometimes the value’s not clear. Favours? Those… were tricky. Sometimes worth far more than you would think. “It wouldn’t be fleecing to trade coin for silken fleece. Besides, favours make me uneasy.”
”A shame”, she thought, although her compatriots judicious nature was refreshing: if only because it showed some wisdom. “One favour then. I assured you, it will be nothing drastic: we can even include a ‘get out’ clause, if you so desire. Should I impose a favour too steep, you can opt out for a small monetary amount, to be sure. I will be honest with you, lady Draza, I simply don’t require the money at the moment, is all. It is only my time I seek to reimburse.” She offered the fairy another smile, before a thought came over her. “I forgot to ask, do you want a drink? By all the banished gods, I must appear to be a terrible host.”
“I appreciate the offer, you are being more than gracious a host for me, to have interrupted you. If you have sweetened milk or tea and honey I’d be more than glad to drink with you while we… work out the specifics?” she says, not necessarily asking, but her tone rising at the end with only a hint of uncertainty. “I’d prefer to get things in writing, so I don’t forget what the terms were,” a small lie, one that she normally pulls off well due to her demeanour. She wanted things in writing because oaths break a lot easier if not set in at least parchment. The few times she’s had them set in literal stone were also very binding dealings. “If it’s not a recipe or how to properly set a toy’s arm back in place, or birthdays, my memory is fleeting.”
“I can do milk or tea: I think milk shall be the choice though, at this time of night; one moment.” Alicia exited the main room and disappeared into a number of cupboards, accidentally knocking things onto the floor like boxed foods and a few bits of cutlery. Eventually she pulled out two glasses of milk: one normal sized one and another, much smaller glass, before pouring the milk. “I would have told you if you were an inconvenience, Draza: Your desire for a contract is understandable, I like to think of myself as shrewd, if nothing else: and you appear to be equally so.” bringing both glasses over, she plopped them onto the table and sauntered off in search of some parchment and some ink. “It is times like this that I miss my home, where do you call home, lady Draza?” she kept rummaging around in various corners of the room, trying to locate the paper that she’d either misplaced or simply buried under her other belongings.
“Shrewd, but not rude Lady Alicia,” Draza piped in with only a bit of a possible interruption, keeping her volume low. She took the glass and raised it respectfully before bowing and taking a seat at the table, “Thank you, Lady Alicia; I’m from Rheinfeld, the Republic one at this time, although I was originally from the union of all of it, a small village far from most of the bustle… and well, things change and I’m here now. For now, I think this castle is my home.”
She called back to the small fae-folk, still buried in a cupboard, looking for the blasted parchment. She should really ask Jacque to tidy this place. “Rheinfeld: I will admit, I have spent very little time there. It would be safe to say I am not welcome in those l-Ah-hah!” She triumphantly lifts up a piece of blank parchment, as well as an inkwell and a quill. The entire lot had been put together, as if once part of an organised bundle. “A contract then; do you wish to do the writing then? Perhaps it will ease you of any loopholes or trickery I might include.” she smiles at the woman, before sliding the inkwell to the fairy, with quill inside. Truth be told, the vampire loathed contract writing. She had written so many lengthy trade agreements in the decade since inheritance that her wrist wanted to cramp up at the mere thought of writing a document.
Draza smiled, wryly, “I would be glad to write it, if you can read my script,” she giggled. It was a fancy of her time in diplomacy, small hands could write fine print unlike most others, a skill that she sometimes had to use with very complicated contracts before, but here? It’d just save Alicia on some parchment. “So, will we be doing measurements before, or after? May I inspect the quality of the silk, and of prior tailorings of it? Work out a style, or at least see enough to trust you to wow me when I put it on and do a practice spin in front of a mirror?” she giggled, “Oh, and colours, and, oh do you do frills well? They’re difficult according to most for my frame to scale down, you need fingers so nimble… and fibre so pure.”
The excitable barrage of questions brought a wider grin to her lips, and she even let out a small giggle. “It has been a long time since I met someone so genuine and enthusiastic about a dress. I can show you a number of my own dresses, if that suits you: the quality of design and silk will be very similar. As for colour, I’m sure I can procure some dye here in Renalta. The frills will be a challenge, due to your size, but what is life without a few challenges, hmm?” she smirks at herself as she plucks the glass from the table and sips at it, happy with the way things were going. She didn’t know why she wanted to hoard favours so much, but it seemed wise at the time. She was sure that having a fae owe you a favour was worth more than a few coins, to say the least.
Draza was already writing out the initial details on the arrangement, namely very plain clauses to get out for both parties if things go awry. She could have tried to make it only for her, but that would have been mean of her. Besides, she’s wanting a friend out of this, and shouldn’t be too overtly distrusting. “I’d like to see both dresses and the material itself if that’s okay!” she added with a bit of chipper to her tone. More so than normal, even. She was having fun… writing a dress purchase and favour contract.
Basic agreements were written, namely her getting to investigate the silk with as many of her senses as she wished. In other dealings with tailors and weavers she had learned to ask for a sample of the silk or fibre, too small for even utility for her, as a token of competence. She’d later compare the the thread to those used in the dress, or other use (typically standards and flags, or tablecloths and napkins), to see if quality was up to standards. While she didn’t want to be too distrusting, that clause was included as well.
“Erm, I know the staple length of silk is rather long, and cutting it is… not ideal but if you happened to have a micron of excess for me to have as a token of our working together too, that’d be just lovely,” Draza said with a smile, “Less waste and a keepsake, good for all. Plus,” she sighed with a bit of a playful huff, “Quality assurance. Habit from buying napkins en masse for parties, you check the thread count, you check everything If you can’t rub it against your face and purr, it’s not the finest for a gala like this, no?”
Alicia felt a genuine surprise at the precise measure of the contract. The fact that Draza was being more competent than most merchants she had dealt with in the past was probably the first indicator as to why the fae had been chosen for the Queen’s blades. It was comforting to know that she was having an opportunity to make a deal with the fae while she held at least some of the upper hand: Draza was imposing on her, after all, which meant that Alicia had a bit of leeway. Were the situation reversed, Alicia dreaded to think what power the fae might have as a bargain-er or a politician. “I can produce the dress for you now. The silk is still being unpacked, I didn’t expect to require any so soon. It is a good thing that others have not been as swift as you, or I’d think the quantity of silk I’d brought with me insufficient.”
The vampire slowly rises from her seat, having drained most of the milk, and she moved towards the long, closed wardrobe. It was a person sized thing, and as she opened the door she revealed it housed a full-length mirror. Taking a moment, she plucked a particular dress from the rack, a long, flowing blue dress with a slit in the right side, for bearing the leg. “This is one of the dresses I’ve decided against for this ball.” She lays the dress flat against the bed, allowing the beautiful garment to take up half her sleeping space. “Take your time and examine the quality, perhaps while I read the contract, assuming it is done.”
Draza looked at the dress and audibly gasped, “Ooooh, that looks so, er,” she stopped at the mention of the contract’s state of completion, “Not done yet, I’m afraid, but enough is written to cover this particular instance.” Draza set aside her writing before moving over to more closely investigate the garment, carefully treating it with her fingers, “It’s beautiful, do you dye prior to spinning, how many ply, oh the craftsmanship is superb, do you make it in house yourself or, oooooooh look at the lacework here…” her comments bounced between asking questions about the work, and complementing the work rather quickly.
“I’m glad you appreciate the work. I must admit, I only have a hand in the dresses designs: Jacque is the man who does the actual work. He is a very useful manservant, to be sure. He could likely procure himself a job away from my side, yet he owes me a small debt which I always assure him he has repaid twice over.” She smirks at the memory of Jacque and her first meeting. It was a far simpler time, before she was a vampire and when she had only just become the last member of her line...strange times indeed.
She examined what was complete of the contract and nodded with an approving smile. So far, the contract had been as evenly weighted as she could hope: considering the judicious nature of her new found client. The only thing that truly concerned her was just how small the fae’s writing was. “Perhaps we should move on to the design of the dress itself? Have you any ideas, thus far?”
“Well,” Draza began, “I usually don’t like uni-taskers, clothes being no exceptions. Is your silk from worms, caterpillars, spiders, or something else? I’d like it to be more like two set pieces, each containing their own pieces of the dress if possible. Given how things have gone so far, anything that’s too… flowy and stuff, too loose?” she said, still tracing her fingers over the material of the example, “I’d like it if that would be attached with weaker seams. Not enough that a snag would take it apart, but if I’m running and someone stomps on my skirt that I won’t just poof over on the side.”
Draza gave a small cough, “But if you’re talking about design for the dress’ appearance, I usually look good in sunrise colours and warmer tones.”
Alicia is taken aback by the intensity of the fae. She spoke up about her desires so rapidly and so fluently that once again, the vampire was glad that she was not dealing with a regular merchant, and instead was talking with someone who wanted a favour. Alicia reached for a second piece of parchment and grabbed a pencil, before she started to sketch. “So a two-piece dress with light connecting seams. I must admit, I don’t understand: is flow-ee good or bad here?”
“Oh not just two pieces, but almost two garbs bound at the seams? The inner dress will be far more practical for movement, no good grab points, and I can run really really really really really,” she repeats that word, “Really fast away from the bad things. The Bad things that I really really don’t want to happen but after the whole… well, y’know, I figure better safe than sorry.”
“But!” she adds, suddenly chipper at fullness again, “The lighter, flowing, nicer dress that extends from it is just like a normal dress, or…” she ponders, “Pieces of one? Attached to the under ‘safety’ dress. So if all’s fine, I look great, if the manure hits the aqueduct, well, safety dress!”
Alicia nods as she listens in on Draza as her hands move to sketch long lines and smooth, gentle curves. She was working on drawing the fae herself, and had drawn the torso already before she started to detail the dress itself: a slightly lower neck; a slit on both sides that made movement easier, up to the knee; shorter sleeves, as well as a set of elbow length gloves to give the illusion of a full dress. “It has just occurred to me that Jacque is going to likely threaten resignation once I tell him your measurements.” Alicia chuckles at the thought, clearly finding it to have joke-like qualities, even if she seemed deadly serious about the situation. “Feel free to carry on with the contract while I work on the…” she clears her throat. “...Safety dress.”
Alicia spent a few minutes sketching more fine details onto the dress itself, as well as Draza. Once happy enough with the first draft, she stands up and places the sketch next to the example dress on the bed, for Draza to examine at her leisure. “Take a peek: the fact that you are having an under-dress means that this is the most important aspect. Not wanting to be a braggart, but a long, flowing dress in summer colours is not going to be difficult, for Jacque or myself.”
Draza took the sketch, and sat down with it aside the contract, quill in her hand as she investigated the finer details, “Hmmm,” she sighed ponderously, twirling the quill before it landed at the last line of the contract, “Your sketchwork is exquisite, and I can’t wait to see the dress in full, and proper mockups at that,” both details that she began to idly include in the contract. “What’s the Bradford count of your silk line? How much stress could it be put under? How much oooh it really is soft. You know, that’s actually a bit hard to do for someone of my size, Everything feels so much more rough than it does for others, I hear.” Draza’s rambling slows down into a nice pleasant hum as she rubs the garment against her cheek, “But this…” she sighs, “If you can make a garb in such detail with such fineness, I do not think I’d mind a favour; you’re truly doing me one for even entertaining the idea.”
“The Bradford count is used for wool, but not silk.” Alicia smiled at Draza, glad to see that the Fae was, for lack of a better word, human. It was gratifying to see the faults of an individual, because perfection was simply boring.
“Oh, I knew… that… yeah,” Draza said quietly to herself. What a little liar.
“I will make sure to pass on your appreciation of his work to Jacque: it might convince him to actually take up the dress, instead of resigning.” Alicia hums happily as she begins sketching the dress itself. For the second sketch, she avoids sketching the figure of the fae, not requiring it for looser garments. “I didn’t ask, but is there any style you particularly want to emulate? A high-necked Liverian dress perhaps or maybe something with a scarf, such as the Tulerian party goers prefers?”
“A scarf?” Draza echoed back, “Scarves are very pretty, but I… don’t know,” she twisted her face into a bit of a pout, “I don’t know how well that’d… oh!” her face brightens as normal, “There’s a scarf like neck fade you could do, it looks wrapped but it’s actually sewn into the back. I’m not much a fan of that style, though. I usually only do something like that when it’s a more direct meeting with Tulerians, and this ball…” her voice trailed, “I think it may be in my best interests to emulate most closely the courtly styles of Renalta.”
Draza paused, before speaking again, her eyes going up into nothingness and back to her work, “While it’d be more comfortable for me to do something like my dear home, I do want to show that I’m not just of that land.”
“The glory of Renaltan style is it is so very cosmopolitan: much like its people, it seems. I can incorporate a bit of your Rheinfeld roots and fuse it with a bit of Renaltan flair. It will be nice to introduce some colour to their boring, conservative attire.”
Draza giggled, excited about working on the dress in such detail. She’d have to recommend Alicia to those back in… er, wait, she’d not exactly be keenly welcomed there. She humphed and turned to the contract that she’d been idly writing on through the whole conversation. The parchment had started mostly empty, but by now, margins aside, it was practically full. Full in her own little tiny font. Various words, seemingly at random according to only a casual glance, were enlarged for some sort of emphasis, and there were places to sign, initial, date, and for even witnesses to sign. She didn’t actually recall including the bit about witnesses, it was likely just a habit for her while so distracted.
She hadn’t the time to read all she wrote through at this time, but she figured better safe than sorry, in more ways than just the dress, and quickly added a clause that would render the necessity of a witness unnecessary given specific circumstances. Circumstances that involved specific ink dating methods she knew of and a professional post-documentation witness to attest to their agreeing that a witness not being necessary. She’d have to get that settled in more official capacities than she could do here.
Otherwise, the document was rather fair, it’d just take a lot of reading over. At the very worst, it gave Draza a slight advantage, partially for the size of the font for clarity’s sake, and it being slightly easier for her to have an out from the favour and dress through a series of stipulations that would be a lot of effort to actually get to work in Renaltan court systems due to their basis upon older international laws that are not necessarily always followed de jure. Otherwise, fairly even. Or so she’d hope.
Draza looked from the dress sketches, to the contract, and back to Alicia… before shaking her hand, “Owwww, I wrote too much,” she whined, the soreness in her wrist apparent from the amount of script alone.
Alicia glanced at the lengthy contract with its only-just-legible font and she sighed. “If you ever find yourself out of work, I could do with someone this skilled at contract-work. Perhaps it is a knack, but I can tell when a contract is well constructed because I lose all motivation to read it.” She sighs, before looking over her sketch again, actually quite happy with the end result. It was form-fitting, without being form-hugging, and it allowed free movement, without sacrificing style.
Perhaps this ‘safety dress’ thing could catch on, after all.
“I think the next step is going to be measurements. I’ll need to factor in the under-dress when designing the more standard attire: It may require a bit of additional room, so as to avoid being uncomfortable. Do you know your measurements or do I need to find my tape measure?”
Draza looked down at herself, and gave a sheepish grin and shrug, “I knew my measurements before I joined these Blades, but I think I’ve lost some of myself in all the travels again. Soon I’ll be back to my Templar Measurements, whatever those were.” She shook her head, “We’ll need the measure, I hope it’s accurate.”
Alicia nodded, before walking over to the pile of Jacque’s belongings and procuring his tape measure. The fact that she was so intimately involved with the dress-making process was a rarity, to be sure: but she was admittedly enjoying it. It had felt like the entirety of the last decade had been dedicated to paperwork and balls. So rare was it that she got to practice the art of sketching and design that she worried she’d have forgotten how. Like riding a horse though, it remained ingrained in her.
She paused for a second, remembering the perilous state of her wealth back in Liveria. Would she be able to return to her farms and her fortune? If not, perhaps practicing this dress making talent would be more important.
She shook away the momentary worry, before leaning over to the fae. “Now then, I’d like to measure a few things: your height, waist size, leg length, arm length and bust.” Alicia motioned for the fae to stand up straight, so that she might go about getting the measurements. As she first tried to measure the fae, she realised the scope of her task, as the lines and measurements on the tape were obviously intended for someone that stood taller than her waist. She had to get down onto her knees in order to properly get the first measurement: Draza’s height. “Just under a foot and a half...45 centimetres; no, just below that.” She jotted something onto the incomplete sketch of the over-dress, despite how these measurements were relevant for the under-garment.
“This is not uncomfortable for you?” She looked over at Draza, trying to practice the more gentle approach that would have been shown by a craftsman to her, if it were Alicia getting measured.
Draza shrugged, “It’s erm,” she coughed to clear her throat, “It’s fine, yeah. I know I’m a handful, but fortunately on the account of my being so small, I’m only one handful.”
Alicia laughed lightly, a surprised little chortle at the sudden turn of humour. “Good, good. You’ll have to forgive me if I’m a bit heavy-handed, I am not so commonly the worker, more often the worked upon.” Alicia seemed to enter a state of concentration as she targeted the other required measurements: Arm length was first, 17.9 cm; then the leg length, for a slightly longer 20.1; followed by the relatively wide waist width of 10.1 and hip measurement of 12.3, followed at last by the slow approach of bust. “I’m going to measure your bust now, are you ready?” She was once again, drawing on her own experience with tailors, who would always announce the deed. It was a non-factor here, but still...emulating proper tailors, as opposed to her self-practiced art, seemed like a better bet here.
With a deep breath to steady any of her body’s sway, Draza nodded with an exhale, “I’m ready.”
Alicia takes the measurement of the bust sans breasts, which was 11.6cm. The full bust added another 2.3 cm, which she noted down on the parchment. “Last, but not least, the chest itself.” She announced, going ahead with the final measurement of 2.3 cm. “and there we have it, one set of measurements sure to have Jacque ripping his hair out: what fun this shall be!” She stood up, smiling at the fae as she picked up the incomplete dress sketch, now complete with jotted measurements. She started to consider how much extra to add, before deciding to leave that to the manservant. She had already thought of some ideas for the dress itself, which she started scribbling onto the parchment.
“Shall we then, sign the contract?” Draza said, moving over to the filled parchment of legalese and sliding it over to Alicia, “Or would you er… like a chance to read it first?”
“I think that, in light of this all: I’m going to elect to trust you with the contract. What I read seemed fair, and I hardly imagine you plan to cheat me here. Consider it an act of faith, if you will.” Alicia almost extended a hand to shake, but quickly thought otherwise of the manoeuvre when she recalled the petite fae’s proportions. “I hope this is the beginning of a healthy alliance...nay, a friendship even. For what is friendship without a hint of trust?” Alicia signed the contract with nary a worry in the world. Perhaps it was the demeanour of Draza that made her so likeable, or perhaps it was her it was simply the fact she had won herself a favour from an extremely competent person, but the vampire was in a fine mood. Also the fact that the fae was unlikely to betray a person who could probably eat her, if she tried hard enough and it was certainly improbable that the fairy would desire to betray her.
“Glad to hear that you’re willing to trust me! We’re going to be comrades in arms, trust is good there, and even better for potential friendships beyond…” Draza signed her pieces of the contract as well, rolling it up and keeping it close. “I would be off for reasons of the contract and… like making sure that it’s actually binding? It’s complex, contracts are hard work. And I would be off to leave you to your work or leisure, but before then, I’ll have to ask,” she stood up and straightened herself, “Is there anything I can do for you in the meantime? Not as the contractual favour,” she assured, “But just as… possible friends? Oh and when’s your birthday? What type of cake do you like, what’s your favourite colour, do you like surprises, and do you like to dance?”
“You are an excitable one, aren’t you?” She giggled, hiding her mouth and, more importantly, her teeth. She wasn’t aware if her vampirism was widespread knowledge, so she wanted to keep it relatively under wraps. “How about this. On our next meeting, we can talk about birthdays and parties and such.”
Draza nodded up and down, “That will work, I suppose.” She gathered her things up, “So, until then, you have a wonderful time with your work and your friends and kin,” she said, punctuating it with a curtsy.
“I imagine the dress will be ready in two days. I will send Jacque along with it. I suppose you will be busy for the rest of the week, preparing for the ball?” She starts picking up various pieces of discarded parchment, inkwells, pencils and empty glasses, trying to clear a space so that she can continue with her work on the actual design. She had a much better chance of Jacque actually agreeing to this dress-work if he had a complete design to look at.
“Two days? I guess Jacque is both nimble and quick. I’ll look forward to its completion, but yes… I do have some things I need to attend to. Contractually speaking and otherwise,” she begins towards the door, “I’ll be in touch, and hopefully it’ll be a pleasure doing business with you.”
Alicia opened the door for a fae, before offering her a slight bow. “I do hope the dress will be to your liking, Draza: for the business has already proven pleasant.”